As Charles III prepares to celebrate the anniversary of his coronation on May 6, he might well reflect on what has been a bittersweet first year as king.
Having prepared all his life for the solemn responsibility of succeeding his formidable mother to the throne, it must have been galling – to say the least – to find himself sidelined with a cancer diagnosis.
Precisely at the moment when he should have been accelerating, he was forced to slam on the brakes. It’s not easy for a man who has always been in a hurry to get things done.
Having prepared all his life for the solemn responsibility of succeeding his formidable mother to the throne, it must have been galling for the king to find himself sidelined with a cancer diagnosis, writes Sarah Vine.
Mail columnist Sarah Vine writes that when she met Queen Camilla, she was instantly put at ease by the then Duchess of Cornwall’s manner.
But every cloud has a silver lining. As frustrating as the past few months have been personally, his illness has had a hugely positive outcome. And this is how Queen Camilla has proven herself worthy, not only of being her Queen (as she has undoubtedly always been), but also our Queen.
I met the Duchess of Cornwall, as she then was, many years ago at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. She and the king had not been married long and she had not yet fully adjusted to the role of royal consort. He, as expected, had an air of old-fashioned formality and was quite stiff and anxious. She was the complete opposite: warm, mischievous, conniving and sometimes indiscreet. She instantly made one feel at ease and, by extension, made him seem more relaxed, as it was very clear that everything about her delighted him. If you made her laugh, he’d laugh too, that kind of thing. It was like she was a balm to his soul.
Long after that, I again had the privilege of dining privately with them, this time at Clarence House. The intervening years had changed us all a lot, but the Queen remained the same: warm, welcoming, gossipy, always with that mischievous twinkle in her eyes. As for the King, he seemed much happier, much more comfortable with himself. I remember a happy, casual dinner with delicious food and easy conversation. In many ways, theirs is one of the great love stories of our time, especially because they have overcome many obstacles to be together.
But in people’s minds, the specter of Princess Diana still hangs over their union. And Diana’s loyal fans understandably still feel an element of, at best, ambivalence, and at worst, hostility, toward the former Mrs. Parker Bowles.
I think this is why the king was determined to have his wife crowned with him. She wants the world to recognize how important she is to him and accept her deep commitment to each other, a commitment that has survived the test of time and the opprobrium of many.
It was a great and important gesture. But I think it’s only now, having seen her step up in her hour of need, that people really begin to appreciate the qualities in her. She will always have critics of her. But she has worked hard for many years to earn the trust and forgiveness of the nation. This time she really deserves it.